(Gerry Furth-Sides) In his plea to “save this institution,” David Sax’s book, Save the Deli becomes the definitive account of delis around the world. Besides providing detailed, mouth-watering descriptions of the food he is served in his exhaustive research – along with witty accounts of the folks who prepare it R...
71 Palm overlooking the ocean The expert, loving care given 71 Palm Restaurant in Ventura is obvious from the thick herb garden (yes, they use the herbs for cooking) fronting the gloriously restored 1910 Craftsman. At the top of the stairs is a congenial gentleman effortlessly welcoming guests with a huge smile. It is ch...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Arrive 15 minutes before the 11:00 AM opening and there is already a zigzag line of customers forming, eyeing new arrivals. The place does 800 covers a day during the week-end, and that’s a lot even considering the cafeteria style service. The phenomenal host and manager, Aron Celnik is alr...
It’s truffle season, not the candy modeled after the irregular, warty-shaped little gem but the original with it’s very own unique flavor, aroma and story, now served in local restaurants. Natural truffles are black, brown, white or gray. They vary from the size of a walnut to a man’s fist. Bulbs grow from 3 to [&helli...
New rum cocktail drinks are being created by barkeeps these days as fast and furious as the molasses rum is created with is slow. Although rum is mostly associated with its wild and sometimes brutal British and European history, Puerto Rico the new cocktail names themselves are bouncy city fun and include the Lavender Tonic, [&h...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) You either love it or hate it, and it was love at first bite for me with uni (the Japanese word for sea urchin roe). The gold- colored little gems resembling a kitten’s tongue taste like a cloud and are soft to the point of trembling. When they melt in your mouth, it […]...
Even the word itself has salted our language from biting or “salty” dog language to the invigorating briny – or salubrious” smell on our skin after an ocean swim, “salubrious”- or “healthy” derived from the Latin for “salt.” So is “salami” (salted meat), “salary” (from wages paid to Roman soldiers...
Our California cold snaps may not rival those of the Midwest but they can still feel like the winter “blahs.” One way to counteract dull days is with lively colored red curry dishes. They spices up mealtime with a big flavor, comfort-food style and smooth taste.Red curry paste is made from both wet and dry […]...
Heavenly French macarons and rich hot dark chocolate have become the newest form of “cookies and milk” –and more healthy and non-fattening! We’re talking here about the French macaron, not the candy-kiss-shaped coconut meringue cookies, though are made of egg whites and almond paste and got their biggest bo...
Even knowledgeable foodies may anticipate that the “sorghum” in Chef Keith Shutta’s Butternut squash sorghum “risotto” on his new TART Restaurant menu is a syrup. But when the chef presented the dish, it turned out to be the grain that the chef pops from tiny, globular grains of white sorghum to make a kin...
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 